The Bay

Great place. The best part is they don’t have to many people bugging me. The store is clean and presentable. Thanks for the great service once again. It’s nice to have a Canadian business like the bay to be proud of and support.

Went for a girls day downtown on Friday. Hadn’t been to the Bay Downtown there for ages. My usual Bay is the Southcentre one; modern, clean and accessible.
Pros– Great selection and quality in women’s wear and prices showed good variety too.
Cons– the facility itself is looking dodgy and tired; all escalators were «broken» which meant a superhuman climb up or the hidden elevator
— biggest deterrent to shopping here was a female staff member in ladies wear who must have once worked at an «Asian» restaurant. She yelled at customers like she was slinging food at them and bellowed «all full, all full» as women were attempting to get into the dressing room.
I am very happy to return the the suburbs– Bay Downtown needs a huge facelift (and some new staff!).

Make a major mistake and shopped at the Bay on Christmas Eve. The lower level was filled with a bunch of clueless, rude, friggin’ male idiots. The were in droves like zombies roaming around looking for last minute gifts. One friggin’ idiot was waiting in line at the gift registry section and he cut in front of me in the checkout line. Karma is a b*tch so hope the jack*ss gets his due.

Wonderful staff at the shoe department! There’s a male employee there, who is very attentive and soft spoken! He is obviously very knowledgeable of the shoes in stock, and gives you well informed opinions for the type of shoes that you are looking for!
However, every single other department really pales in comparison. There really is a lack of care from the service people, and it’s difficult to find a register which is actually attended! There is a lot of *stuff* at the Bay, and if you have 5 hours to spare I’m sure you’d be able to find everything you need, but you’re on your own for that 5 hours. If you go in with that expectation, then it’s just all right.

This place is ridiculous. The service is non existent, unless your buying cosmetics or perfume directly from the rep on the main floor. Even if you find something you want, good luck finding a till that is open. I think their business model is old and tired. Considering their very high prices, they could stand to add a few staff. Sometimes I believe they think they are Holt Renfrew. Well, they are not.

For a chain that tries to pass itself off as a luxury department store, HBC fails miserably. This downtown location is probably the“poshest” and definitely the largest Bay store in Calgary, (due to the downtown shoppers’ demographics) and their service is still mediocre at best.
There’s always a shortage of open cash registers and fitting rooms. The facilities are old and tired looking (elevators, escalators, fitting rooms). The last fitting room I was in had a broken door handle!
The best thing about this store is it’s size and variety of merchandise. Basement level is home, first floor: cosmetics, jewellery, and accessories, second floor: menswear, third floor: womenswear, fourth floor: outerwear, lingerie, kids, salon and women’s special sizes, fifth floor: furniture. It’s enough variety for hours of window shopping.
I prefer to window shop here because the prices are not low and the quality of service is undeserving of premium pricing.

Ugh. Can we put this Canadian dinosaur to sleep already? This location SUCKS. Was in there after work today to take advantage of their semi annual sale. I wanted to try my selections on but after walking the men’s wear section for almost 20 minutes I was ready to give up. I found someone and asked to get a change room. The girl could have cared less about letting me in, and when I went to pay, it was another 20 minutes to get someone to help me check out. I went over towards a till with someone there and was told «Oh this till is just for blah blah blah line» So wait. You don’t want to take me my money? Yeah sure I’ll go to the dingy basement. Oh. Basement till. You can’t take clothing purchases? Oh. Well don’t be upset if I toss this pile of clothes on the nearest table and leave. Oh. Winners is up the street. Great. I’ll go there.

Despite the fact that The Bay stores in Calgary are getting renovated and bringing in some more modern designers, their service is still ATROCIOUS! I honestly have not had such terrible service consistently from one store. Unfortunately this is Canada — the land of monopolies and no options — so we are stuck with The Bay and Sears for department stores, and there are times when I have no choice but to shop there.
In one recent experience, I tried on a dress that I had been admiring in a display window for weeks. I saw it online — and I am now kicking myself for not just ordering it to avoid going into the store. But I didn’t and now here we are. So I try on the dress and I need the next size up. If you’ve walked around The Bay recently, you might have noticed that there are signs EVERYWHERE saying: Don’t have your size? Ask a sales associate and we’ll find it for you, and send it to your home. And I mean everywhere — all over the display racks, dressing rooms, you name it. So I take the dress to the cash register, and say that I’d like to have the next size up sent to my home. The associate looked up the item, and tells me they have it at Market Mall. I say, Great — I’d like it send to my house. She looked at me like I was speaking gibberish, so I repeated myself. She said they couldn’t ship it, so I asked why are there signs throughout the store saying if you don’t have my size, you will find it and send it to me? Again, she looked at me like I was speaking in tongues and said she had no idea what I was talking about. REALLY!!! There are signs EVERYWHERE! Which I pointed out to her.
At this point I was clearly annoyed — I live in the deep South. I am not driving to the exact opposite end of the city for a dress because The Bay cannot hire competent staff and get their $hit together. So I told her that I would just order the dress online… which was of course now sold out online. *sigh* I guess it was not meant to be!
If anyone has shopped at Nordstrom in the US, you know that their customer service is excellent. I hope that they bring this same attitude with them to Canada later this year. At which point The Bay better watch out! I am all for promoting Canadian business, but this store is seriously an embarrassment.

I have invested hours today trying to get ANYBODY on the phone from CUSTOMER SERVICE, but they don’t have such a thing. I have left repeated messages with managers, none of my calls have been returned. I am so happy that I am able to do most of my shopping in the U.S. where I get fantastic service. This company better get their act together or nobody will be shopping there anymore. I’ve been a loyal customer for over 25 years, but in future I will be avoiding this store wherever possible.

Four years ago I said the service at The Bay was awful, and guess what? Nothing has changed.
I could easily love The Bay, if it wasn’t for the crappy service.
About 2 months ago, we ordered glasses from the Bay optometrist. After waiting eight weeks (!!!), they finally came in. We were told it would only take 3 weeks, and had to regularly call in to get updates because they weren’t calling us to keep us in the loop all along the process.
We wrote the store manager Rob an email 3 weeks ago expressing our discontentment with The Bay and he has yet to respond. What really hits it home is that the Bay preaches integrity and standing behind their brand, but they clearly don’t care about their customers.

This is my favorite Hudson’s Bay here in Calgary. They are the largest and have a lot of… Well, everything! Something for everyone. I especially love their selection for free people and topshop :)

The Bay Downtown did a booth on the ground floor of Suncor Energy Center a few weeks ago. I am not a big Bay shopper, only because it is a very big space, and I am mostly a shopper — not much of a browser.
However, after seeing the display at Suncor, that hauled my sorry butt in there after dof the accessories they were showing.
First, they gave me a free coupon to get my eyebrows waxed. I took that as a hint, and made an appointment at the Bay to get that done.
Then… Nars Cosmestics did a make up touch up. They have a cool all-​in-​one makeup in a tube that serves as an eyeshadow, lipstick AND blush (very cool ladies), so of course — in I went in to pick up that cool little contraption.
Last but not least — the accessories area. They brought in purses, shoes and scarves to die for. And boots! Dont forget the boots!
Those tricky buggers (affectionality of course) didnt have prices on any of their items, or… anything for sale, so the ladies of Suncor had no choice but to march down there and pick up their favories from the display.
It was brilliant.
They were generous with discounts on certain services.
Seriously, I had sort of forgot about the Bay, and now… I am back!

Every Big City has a Department Store and in Canada it’s The Bay. And like every other store of this genre, the selection will depend on the neighbourhood. This «Compagnie de la Baie d’Hudson» Outpost in Downtown Calgary is one of their flagship stores, complete with the large, historical, and multi-​leveled building. The practical upshot is nicer choice of stuff and in a more classy environment. I love wandering in and around when I’m in Town, and regardless of whether I need anything. The «Sales of the Season» aren’t as good as my local Macy’s, but the Clearance Racks do occasionally hold some hidden treasures.

How the mighty have fallen. The Bay no longer carries any brand name clothing and their prices aren’t particularly good compared to the better department stores. Don’t even get me started on how awful the shoe department is. Why would you shop here when Harry Rosen and Holt Renfrew are only a few blocks away? Steer clear.

I have never been to a better Bay! It’s near my work so I go to this Bay maybe 3 – 5 times a month. Amazing! Every department.
If you try and find a high end selection that matches this location at any other Bay, you will be disappointed. Not only is it much cleaner and much more organized than the other Bays in the city, but the staff comes to match it. Shopping in their high end fashion section makes me feel like I’m on Rodeo drive. The staff is friendly and helpful, offering styles and accessories to compliment what you’re looking for.
The shoe and purse section is also neatly set up, with very helpful staff (mostly in the shoe department) always around, even if it’s busy during the Christmas season.
Fragrance section… I don’t know. It’s hard, most places the fragrance section is filled with bored staff sitting around looking bored, eying people as they walk by judging whether they are worth venturing out of their station to offer you a sample. I’ve bought fragrance from here before and this section is neither exceptional but not really that different from any other Bay so I don’t really have a problem with it.
And then… what prompted me to write the review. I went in to the optical area to ask about if I could get my sunglasses fixed. They were super helpful and super friendly, and didn’t charge me (it was only a screw, but usually places will charge for whatever they can). It definitely made a difference, and I left the store extremely happy, excited to write a good review (since almost all my experiences here are good anyway I don’t know why I hadn’t already!)
Always excited for a lunch time walk to the Bay downtown!

It’s a pretty sweet Bay with men’s business apparel at affordable prices. Not only is the selection decent, but the sales people are really proactive. Often times the staff inform me that items I am looking at will be on sale the coming weekend. In addition, when I was unsure of my shirt size the associate took the time to measure my chest, back and arms to find the right size. It was kind of weird being measured in the middle of the department store, but I really appreciated the service.
The shoe selection here always catches my eye. It seems this Bay enjoys a higher quality of shoe selection than others. Usually clean and classic in design, they are also young professional affordable which certainly doesn’t hurt. Yes … a man can enjoy a little shoe shopping as well!
Some of the prices for the high end stuff is intimidating, but sales happen frequently. However, before you buy check the Winner’s one block east on Stephen Ave. Sometimes you can find the same articles or something similar for a little cheaper.

The Bay just had a major face lift, eyebrow lift, nose job and maybe even a new set of *honk honk.*
They carry all these fabulous lines now! See by Chloe, Coach, Pink Tartan, Free People, Marc Jacobs (the downtown location). This is a great improvement, now I am actually excited to be in the store looking through the racks I would have otherwise walked by before.
In cosmetics, there seems to be a few additions to the staples, some of which were only United States exclusives.
IS ANYONE AS ESTATIC AS I AM???
Definately a nice surprise since it IS 3 days before Christmas.
Evening parking is great, it’s only $ 2 in the nearby lots, $ 0 if you can find street parking. Close to the C-​train and right on 8^th Avenue along with some of the best dining available in the Core.

The Bay is generally where I go when I know what I’m looking for, because as a rule I won’t receive any competent help. Over the past few years, shopping at the Bay really has taken on all the hallmarks of shopping at Zellers – right down to the staff uniforms (aprons? really?) – and lost a lot of the classic «department store» vibe of old. Enter the Downtown Bay, which I have – time and again – enjoyed terrific shopping experiences up in Menswear. I’ve actually had competent help who have guided me through such workaday topics as «what is the right white shirt for you?” – the answer to which an enthusiastic staff member completely redefined in my mind! I had, for years, become so accustomed to trudging in and buying the same white shirts that I had totally missed the selection The Bay offers. Having said that – not all Bays are made equal. Most are akin to shopping in a pre-​wrapped pig sty, where there is clearly no pride or sense of ownership taken by the staff. The Downtown Bay has none of the now-​typical Bay employee indifference, and I’m glad for it.
If you’ve personally barred yourself from visiting The Bay (as I have) give the Downtown store a try. It may be a bit of a challenge to get to – but when only the Bay will do, I make the effort to find a parking spot and enjoy a civilised department store experience.

I won’t get into the Hudson Bay as a department store, or the vast history it has in our Country rather I would like to digress about the food court downstairs. I am not sure if people know that the Bay has prepared food to eat or take out on the bottom level of the store so hence my review.
I would like to now talk about fish, the fish and chips section of the food court is my mother’s favourite eating hole and I am proud to say it is mine as well. For years prior when I would visit my mom in Calgary we would do our weekly «get our shop on» downtown and eat fish and chips at the Bay. Let me tell you after all these years it is still the freshest most affordable fish and chips I have eaten in Calgary.
Two pieces of fresh halibut and chips for $ 8.95. The fish is so crispy on the outside and tender in the inside, it is not greasy, it is just perfect, and there is a huge plate of fries that comes with. You also get tons of tartar sauce as many packets as you like and fresh lemon crescents to squeeze onto your fillets.
Now the pros of eating here, is that there are different stations, a beverage station, prime rib roast beef station and a dessert station so you can totally mix up your beverage and dessert choices. There is ample seating and the staff is always very gracious when serving you and it isn’t too crowded probably because you don’t think about the Bay for food, people usually just eat in the food court while shopping at the TD Square.
So next time you are downtown and want a nice light affordable well cooked meal think of the fish and chips at the Bay.

This Bay location is my secret weapon. Fortunately for me, not many people like the Bay, which also means that not many people shop there… Now, other Bay locations in Calgary tend to have mediocre selection. But this Bay has a hidden corner with many of my favourite smaller designers — Kensie, Kersh, Vero Moda, Lady Dutch and Coco & Marie. And they’ve got a lot of them. And when the Bay has sales IT GOES ON SALE TOO — 30% off brand new merchandise that would never go on sale elsewhere. I am über vigilant about trolling this corner of the store, because I can then pay considerably less than at some of my other favourite stores for the same items. I get lots of compliments on my Bay clothes.
They also have an admirable selection of both shoes and purses. Seriously, such a hidden gem. Sure, the service sucks sometimes — but sometimes it is downright amazing. There was one woman who sat with me and commented while I tried on 5 (5!) pairs of shoes. And they have an amazing selection of colourful HUE tights too…
It might not be glitzy, and it might not be glamourous, but this Bay is my little fashion secret.